


if he makes you smile like that, then what good am i?

by ClementineKitten



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (see the a/n), Denial of Feelings, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, Jealous Kageyama!, M/M, Misunderstandings, Tsukishima being an ass, and kageyama being "really good" at emotions, dumbasses being dumbasses, pathetic fallacy (for the Drama)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:20:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23528281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClementineKitten/pseuds/ClementineKitten
Summary: The feeling of jealousy was new to Kageyama, and already he's not the biggest fan of it.(In which Kageyama grossly misconstrues the nature of Hinata and Yamaguchi's relationship, Tsukishima is too amused to correct him, and Hinata remains as blissfully oblivious as he always does.)
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 33
Kudos: 496





	if he makes you smile like that, then what good am i?

**Author's Note:**

> manga spoilers: mentions of kageyama's family, living situation, and past. vague allusions to nationals (an extremely vague allusion to the outcome)  
> takes place in their second year  
> apparently all i write now is jealous kageyama. i've found my calling

"Yamaguchi! Are you still coming over tonight?!"

"I would have told you if I wasn't."

Hinata giggles as he takes off his shirt and slips on a hoodie. “Oh. Yeah. Well.” He reaches for his gakuran as Yamaguchi gives him a smile and shoulders his backpack. “I’m looking forward to it!" 

"About it, actually. There's something my Mom said--"

"What is it?"

“Well…”

Kageyama isn't intentionally listening to this conversation. He's listening to it because Hinata is as damn loud as ever and he's being a distracting little brat-- that's all. He has no personal stakes in his and Yamaguchi's apparent sleepover (which is the first time he's hearing of it, not that it matters), so he simply (forcefully) zips up his bag and casts a casual (pointed) look at Tsukishima as Hinata and Yamaguchi leave the club room together, Hinata bouncing along as always.

"Since when were Hinata and Yamaguchi so close?" he asks the blonde, who looks a little miffed that Kageyama is starting a conversation willingly.

Tsukishima shrugs. "What's it to you?"

"Nothing, just-- Well, you two usually walk to class," Kageyama replies, clipped.

"You notice things off the court. I'm surprised." Tsukishima smirks. "Maybe something changed."

"Something changed?" Kageyama keeps his voice low. Despite the fact that the gossip-mongers Nishinoya and Tanaka had already bolted from the room, he doesn't want the first years to overhear, either. "Like what?"

Tsukishima adjusts his glasses, brow raising. "Who's to say?"

Kageyama glowers.

"Easy now." Tsukishima pats him on the shoulder like a parent may do to a child on his way out. "There's no need to be jealous."

And then he was the only second year left in the room, steaming at Tsukishima's teasing and weirdly tangled up inside over the conversation he overheard.

"Kageyama-san? Are you alright?" One of the first years -- Shiina -- asks timidly.

"Fine," he snaps, and Shiina shies away. Ennoshita gives him a look from the other side of the room, and he mumbles out a short "sorry."

He leaves soon after himself, hastily buttoning up his dress shirt. _Jealous?_ He has no idea why Tsukishima had said that. What was there to be jealous over? He's been to Hinata's house. And the team has done camps where they've all slept together. There's not an experience he's missing out on.

He should stop listening to Tsukishima when they're not on the court. It never served him any good. 

So he stalks his way toward his classroom, passing the aforementioned pair in his travels. Yamaguchi waves at him, which he ignores, because he's just really focused on getting to class in time.

(Interesting, because when he's actually sitting in his desk, he absorbs nothing his teacher says and hazards a go at the worksheet, which goes about as well as one may expect. It's not his fault he can't focus, when counting down the minutes until class is over and he can play more volleyball is infinitely more interesting than exponential functions.)

And then he's out. He catches Hinata as he leaves his classroom, and the two clamber through the hallways, clumsily avoiding the throngs of students giving them dirty looks as they race to the club room.

Hinata, curse his height, manages to dodge through the crowd with more ease than Kageyama, and even goes through a guy's legs (who gives Kageyama an insulted look as he trips after him. He shrugs as he goes).

"I win!" Hinata sings, pushing open the door to the clubroom.

"Bastard," Kageyama mutters, following him in, and watching Hinata toss his bag to the side and ripping off his gakuran as soon as he steps in.

"368-367," he says, taking off his hoodie with a little more care than his jacket.

"Not for long," Kageyama bites back.

"But right now, I'm beating you." With smugness in his voice, Hinata puts his hands on his hips and faces Kageyama with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah." Kageyama makes a point of looking away at that moment.

They slip into a comfortable quiet, between the rustling of their clothes, which has become commonplace, as they usually find themselves alone together in the room. 

"Heya, senpais!" A first year wing spiker -- Seiya -- bursts into the room.

"Hey!" 

"Hey."

They finish up, and he and Hinata pass Tanaka and Nishinoya as they make their way out, the two of them engaged in what appears to be serious conversation.

"This is your big break, Ryuu," Nishinoya was saying in a hushed tone. "If it's you, I can allow it."

"Bro… You really mean that?"

"Wonder what that's about?" Hinata comments as they enter the clubroom.

"Who knows? Probably a girl."

"Kageyama, you're so insensitive when it comes to matters of the heart!" 

"Can it."

"It would be nice, though," Hinata muses. "They were both so sad when Shimizu-san graduated. Oh!" He hits his palm with his fist. "Maybe it's her!"

"Why does it matter?" 

"I don't know! It would be cool, wouldn't it? What if he got a call from his lifelong love, at long last?"

"You're way too invested in this, dumbass."

Hinata gives him a wounded look. "Just because love doesn't matter to you doesn't mean it doesn't matter to the rest of us-- oo, we're at the gym!"

He leaps through the gym doors and scurries to the locked equipment room. "Yachi-san!" he calls out to the blonde, who's busy setting up benches.

"Hi, Hinata!" Kageyama comes into the gym as Yachi unlocks the room for him, and they disappear in together. 

"Yachi-san, about my English quiz--" is the last thing he hears before Hinata's words are swallowed by the echo of the equipment room.

Weirdly, Hinata's condescension just moments before sticks in the back of his mind as the ball cart is pulled out and Hinata fetches a ball for them to start passing back and forth.

He was starting to realize that the things Hinata said and did -- even off the court, outside the heat of the game, which perturbed Kageyama -- had an annoying habit of getting trapped in his brain and playing on loop. He hadn't discovered a way to rid himself of such irritating thoughts, but he hopes he does soon, because the last image he needs in his mind is Hinata -- _Dumbass Hinata Shouyou_ \-- berating him for his sensitivity or lack thereof when it came to love.

And it wasn't like it mattered, since he was never going to love anything in the same way he loved the breathlessness of the game, the tight ache in his chest at match point, the way the volleyball kisses his fingertips, the indescribable emotion that twists Hinata's face when he hits one of his sets--

Wait.

He shakes his head. He was never going to love anything as much as he loves volleyball. He'll leave it at that.

And even odder still, his thoughts turn back his memories to their morning practice, to how Hinata looked while he was talking to Yamaguchi, the things that Tsukishima said, and--

Stop. Unnecessary rumination. The only things that exist are the grid of the court, the direction of his pass, and Hinata being there. He was always there--

Something was deeply wrong with him today. Perhaps it had something to do with… well… actually, he hadn't a clue.

"Kageyama! Where are you looking?!" Hinata yells across from him, and of _course_ he noticed that something was off, because the pest always notices.

"Straight at you, dumbass." He spikes the ball down, and Hinata dives to receive it.

"Good!" His face was determined as the ball came back to Kageyama, only a little off course.

The door swings open.

"Second years! I hope you're not letting Yachi do all the setting up!"

"Urk! No, Sir!" Hinata replies quickly, catching the ball as their Captain enters.

They were beginning to learn that Ennoshita could give Sawamura a run for his money in the scary department, partially because he forewent any pretense of niceties and made it clear that he would tolerate no tomfoolery from the get go.

"It's alright, Ennoshita-san, I'm pretty much done, anyways, don't worry about it," Yachi says quickly, waving her hand dismissively. Ennoshita's eyebrow quirks.

"That so? I suppose you two are off the hook, then. For now," he adds with a mischievous glint to his eye. Hinata shudders. 

The rest of the team filter in soon after. "Yamaguchi!" Hinata calls as soon as he and Tsukishima enter, jaunting over to the pair. "Can you help me with my receives today? I want you to serve at me!"

"Sure," Yamaguchi responds, looking mildly surprised. "But you're not going to get them that easily!"

Ah, there was that feeling again. Like his gut was curling deep inside him as he watches Hinata bounce up and down excitedly. He doesn't like it. Not one bit.

He turns away staunchly and heads to the sidelines, suddenly needing a drink from his water bottle. 

"Kageyama-kun? Are you alright?" Yachi asks quietly as he approaches, apparently noticing his expression, contorted with darkness.

He nods wordlessly and sips. Then he slams down his bottle, making Yachi jump, and runs to join the official warm up that Ennoshita's just about to start.

He usually stands next to Hinata, but seeing that he's already found a place next to Yamaguchi, he slinks to a position between Kinoshita and Seiya.

Big. He feels… big. Like there's something inside of him, trying desperately to claw out. Like he'll turn around and hit someone. That's what the sensation in the pit of his stomach is inflicting.

He doesn't know what it means. Maybe he should see a doctor. He runs through memories in his head, trying to remember a time he had the same feeling, and what he did to resolve it.

One memory clicks-- after their Inarizaki game in their first year Nationals. He recalls a similar jolt in his stomach after Miya Atsumu had singled out Hinata and promised to toss to him one day. The weird discomfort he felt now was similar to then-- though he attributed it to surprise more than anything.

_Surprise,_ he wonders. What did he have to be surprised about? The feeling was centred on Hinata, but nothing about him managed to surprise Kageyama anymore. He had learned to expect the unexpected with him-- he was always doing something new.

Surprised about Hinata and Yamaguchi? Well, they've always been friends. The fact that they hung out together isn't a surprise. 

But still, as they finished stretching, and Ennoshita gives them some minutes grace to practice on their own as he sets up drills, Hinata and Yamaguchi scamper off together, and the feeling intensifies. 

"Hey, King," Tsukishima murmurs close to him-- Kageyama hadn't even noticed him, he had been watching the other two. "Don't look so obvious, will you?" 

Then he walks off.

_What?_

"Kageyama-senpai! I mean, Kageyama-san!" Seiya interrupts his thoughts, squishing a volleyball between his palms. "Can you set to me? Uh… please?"

"Uh, sure." Seiya's eyes light up, as if he wasn’t expecting a positive answer.

“Great!”

Kageyama breathes in deeply. That’s right; it was time for volleyball. He wasn’t about to let anything get in the way of his enjoyment of a practice which always seemed too short.

-

The sense manages to quiet when they slip into a scrimmage, but after practice, as the sun dims on the pavement and sets it alight with dying golden streaks of light, darkness reaching up into the sky above, it rears its ugly head again.

Kageyama watches Hinata run to catch up with Yamaguchi and Tsukishima, and it thuds dully inside of him.

“Hurry up, Kageyama!” He turns back briefly to wave for him, and Kageyama rolls his eyes but jogs to catch up all the same.

“Kiyose,” Hinata says, diving immediately into conversation as Kageyama comes to his side, “is so freakin’ good at receives.”

“We’ve been in the club for some months now, you’ve known that for a while,” Tsukishima points out.

“Well, yeah, but! He kept getting all of my spikes during practice! And he’s so cool about it! I was frustrated!”

Yamaguchi smiles. “At least, we don’t have to worry about next year, without Nishinoya-san.”

“Yeah, we don’t,” Kageyama says, a little sharper than intended. He looks down at his feet quickly before returning to his forward facing glare.

Hinata, not noticing (or pretending not to notice) his unnecessary hostility, continues prattling on. “And Seiya’s crosses are great, Shiina’s getting crazy good at his jump serve, and Kurahara might run you off the starting lineup with those blocks, Tsukishima,” he jests, elbowing Tsukishima in the side.

The blonde regards Hinata with deadpan frown. “Yeah, right,” he says drily. “He’ll have to try a little harder.”

“Don’t razz him too much, Hinata.”

“I’m trying to get him to show that competitive streak of his again! We can’t lose to our kouhai!”

“Oh, I don’t plan on losing.”

“See?”

As the three talk amongst themselves, Kageyama finds himself keeping fairly quiet. Not that he was ever the loudest person (he left it to Hinata to fill the silence; he was a good noisemaker if nothing else), but Hinata picks up on his self-imposed silence, so he jabs Kageyama in the side.

“What?” he says gruffly, swatting Hinata away.

“What about it? None of out first years played setter in middle school. Forget Noya-san, what’re you gonna do without a protogé?”

Kageyama’s lip curls. “We’re not third years yet. And I’m fine on my own.”

“Always so stoic!”

“I think you mean _supercilious,_ ” Tsukishima appends.

“Huh? What does that mean?” After a brief pause, Hinata adds, “Kageyama’s not that smart, so you’ll need to explain.”

“Hey, dumbass, don’t pretend like you know what it means either!”

“Um, well, it has _super_ in it, so it’s probably a good thing.”

“Tsukki,” Yamaguchi says, nudging him. “Tone down your insults, maybe.”

“That can hardly be considered an insult.”

“Tone down your vocabulary, then.”

Tsukishima sniffs distastefully, but leaves it at that. Hinata pulls on Kageyama’s sleeve. “I’ll search it up when I get home,” he whisper-shouts.

“Throw it back in his face some time,” Kageyama whispers back. Hinata nods dutifully; Kageyama acknowledges that though they have a bad habit of butting heads at inopportune times, they always reached a mutual understanding when it came to Tsukishima.

“Welp, we’re off!” Hinata says suddenly, tugging Yamaguchi away. “See you guys next week!”

Oh, right. The two of them had plans.

“It’s a bit of a trek to Hinata’s, wouldn’t you say?” Tsukishima points out wryly. 

“Mom’s picking us up and driving us the rest of the way,” Yamaguchi says. “She was coming by here, anyways. We just had to walk partway.”

“Wait, does she have room for my bike?”

“Yes.”

The two of them smile at each other, and ack-- there’s the knot again. Kageyama wonders this time if it’s hunger. He watches them wave goodbye, and sees Tsukishima make a point to wave solely to Yamaguchi. He doesn’t do anything himself.

“Hey, Earth to King,” Tsukishima says after a few seconds. “If you don’t get out of the road, you’ll get hit by a car.”

He supposes he’d been regarding the pair leave, paused where they left. He jogs back to the sidewalk, where Tsukishima is standing, face pulled tightly into a pinched expression.

“You,” he starts, "are a dense motherfucker."

And then, just like practice, walks away after dropping a non-sequitur.

"What the Hell is that supposed to mean?" Kageyama yells out after him, to no avail. 

Uneasy, and weirdly frustrated, Kageyama shoves his hands in his pockets and goes towards his own house, hoping, maybe for the first time in a while, that his parents were working late and Miwa wasn't home. He just wanted to be alone.

Well, he was oft alone while they were home, anyways.

When he gets home and walks into the kitchen, he finds a covered plate of food, and a note. _Won't be home for a few days. Made extra. --Miwa._

Well, he guesses he got his wish.

He heats up his food and can't help thinking, dumbly, of Hinata, and the way he grinned at Yamaguchi, when he had barely done anything to elicit that kind of reaction. It's dumb, he knows, it's dumb and he has no idea why he's thinking about something so useless. He eats, and even as hunger subsides, the feeling in his gut doesn't.

He'll sleep on it. There's a weekend ahead of him to think.

-

The weekend does jack. Kageyama shows up to practice on Monday morning annoyed.

"368-368," he breathes to Hinata.

Hinata rests against the door. "Well, we all know how hard it is to score two points in a row."

"In a game, maybe," Kageyama says as he flicks Hinata on the forehead, sinking down to his level. Hinata lets out a yelp and glares. "Kicking your ass isn't that hard."

"Hey!"

The two catch their breath, and Kageyama thinks his annoyance has to do with Hinata. The feeling earlier was because of him, too. Maybe he's developed an allergy.

He sniffs. His nostrils are clear, at least. And his throat feels fine. Hinata gives him a strange look.

They end up tossing a volleyball back and forth, which is what they do most days. When Ennoshita arrives soon after, Tanaka in tow, he unlocks the door.

Kageyama wonders why he doesn't just let them handle the key, since they're first practically every day. He thinks he remembers Hinata saying something about personal responsibility, but he doesn't exactly remember.

They help set up the gym (under Ennoshita's watchful, but amused gaze), and resume their passing. This time, it's Hinata who looks distracted.

"Why are you twitching like a goddamn puppy on acid?"

Hinata snaps back to attention. "Haven't heard that one. Where did you even pick up something like that?"

Kageyama glares at him.

"Okay, okay! Jeez. Yamaguchi left something at my house, so I'm on a lookout for him."

_Now_ it was Kageyama's turn to twitch. "Oh?"

Hinata wilts at the expression. "Why do you look so scary? Do _you_ want his sweatpants?"

Kageyama blinks. "What? No."

Hinata narrows his eyes. "Hmm…"

"Don't look at me like that. Throw me the ball."

They pass, Yamaguchi arrives with Tsukishima, and Hinata breaks away to greet them. Kageyama finds himself on the sidelines as Yamaguchi tucks his sweatpants into his backpack.

"Hi, Kageyama. How was your weekend?"

"Fine."

With that curt answer, he heads away, leaving Yamaguchi confused and a little concerned in his wake.

It was like Kageyama briefly lost control of himself. He caught himself being unnecessarily rude to Yamaguchi the entire practice, and he didn't do a good job hiding it. After a nasty look from Tanaka, he went and apologized, lying that he didn't sleep well. Yamaguchi shrugged and accepted it with a smile, which brought him to the present, walking by Hinata's classroom at lunch and seeing the two sitting together _again_ , going over schoolwork.

He hadn't been looking for Hinata. Sure, oftentimes they found themselves together at lunch, but that was by coincidence and not design.

"Does our setter feel threatened?" a voice asks, manifesting behind Kageyama.

"What the-- do you know how to teleport, or something?" Kageyama hisses.

Wait, this may be a good opportunity. Tsukishima was rude and annoying, but he was friends with Yamaguchi (he had no idea why the latter could stand the former).

"Maybe you don't want to stand in the doorway of my classroom like that."

Kageyama moves out of the way, and swallows, bracing himself for the words that are about to come out of his mouth. "Tsukishima, are Hinata and Yamaguchi…" He trails off.

Tsukishima smirks. "Use your words, King."

He glares at the other boy. "...Studying?" He gestures toward them vaguely.

Tsukishima looks at him over his glasses. “Given they’re not in the same class, I can’t imagine what they’d have to study together,” he points out. “I mean… you can just _ask_ the question you’re meaning to instead of insinuating it.”

Kageyama narrows his eyes. “I dunno what you’re talking about.”

“You know, the fact that you’ve got your volleyball shorts in a twist because Yamaguchi and Hinata are together.”

“Together? What do you mean, together?”

Tsukishima’s eyebrows raise, entertained. “See what I mean?”

Kageyama holds the blonde’s gaze for a few moments. “Forget it,” he mutters, turning away.

-

The evening is as grey as Kageyama’s heart as he heads toward his house and listens to the sound his footsteps make against the dark pavement.

He distantly wonders, for a brief moment, if he should contact Sugawara. When the third years graduated, he gave Kageyama his contact information with a cheerful smile and said to text him if he needed help with anything.

The thought sticks like glue even though he hadn’t wanted it to, and becomes more and more appealing as he turns it over. Sugawara said he was going to teacher’s college, did he not? Maybe counselling was part of his area of expertise.

His jaw tenses as he pulls out his phone and ends up staring at his meager list of contacts (Sugawara, Ennoshita, the other second years, his parents, Miwa, and an unsaved number that he can’t confidently say is Oikawa, but that he feels is). He looks up at the sky, then back down to his phone. 

**[6:01 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** sugawara-san i have a problem

He shoves his phone back into his pocket and quickens his pace. It vibrates as he comes into his house.

**[6:07 P.M] Sugawara-san** : well, hello to you too, Kageyama! what’s the matter?

**[6:09 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** i don’t know i just feel weird and i don’t want it interfering with volleyball

**[6:09 P.M] Sugawara-san:** weird how?

He’s made a mistake. He can see Sugawara’s prying, gleaming eyes if he closes his own.

**[6:10 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** bad weird

**[6:10 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** like in my stomach bad

**[6:11 P.M] Sugawara-san:** can you elaborate?

**[6:11 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** it's like… stomach anger

**[6:11 P.M] Sugawara-san:** uh-huh… like hunger?

He thinks for a moment.

**[6:12 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** not at all

**[6:12 P.M] Sugawara-san:** then what exactly does it feel like?

**[6:13 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** like all twisty, and it makes me… mad

**[6:13 P.M] Sugawara-san:** ah, I see

**[6:13 P.M] Sugawara-san:** and what seems to be the trigger?

It comes to him instantly.

**[6:13 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** hinata.

**[6:14 P.M] Sugawara-san:** you don't say

**[6:14 P.M] Sugawara-san:** what about Hinata? just him generally? or something he does?

**[6:14 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** it's 

**[6:14 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** he

**[6:14 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** ugh

**[6:14 P.M] Sugawara-san:** take your time

He leans over his table, resting his forehead on the wooden surface. What was he even doing? Why did he even think of involving Sugawara like this? It was dumb. Hinata's dumb.

**[6:15 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** he's. been. practicing with yamaguchi instead of me

**[6:15 P.M] Sugawara-san:** aha. any reason for that? 

**[6:15 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** they're friends or whatever 

**[6:16 P.M] Sugawara-san:** is there a reason for that to upset you?

**[6:16 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** no it's hinata's own stupid business who he spends his stupid time with 

**[6:16 P.M] Sugawara-san:** well I think I see the problem here, Kageyama. you're jealous 

Jealousy? Like Tsukishima had said, but it seemed as if Sugawara was implying something different (and, well, Kageyama cares more about his opinion than the blonde’s).

That wasn't right.

"Jealousy," in that context, was a feeling that described the guys on the shows Miwa watched when she was younger, when the girl he liked hung out with another guy. Or, "jealousy" was what he heard about on Valentine's Day, when the boys in his class would grumble about not getting chocolate. 

"Jealousy" was about love, and Kageyama Tobio was decidedly _not_ in love with Hinata Shouyou. The Earth would stop spinning before _that_ disaster happened.

**[6:17 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:** i'm sorry, sugawara-san, but i think you're mistaken 

**[6:17 P.M] Sugawara-san:** "jealousy means love and I'm not in love! wah!"

**[6:17 P.M] Sugawara-san:**...is what you're thinking, yes? 

Kageyama blinks.

**[6:18 P.M] Sugawara-san:** well, whatever you say. but friends can be jealous of friends. in fact, it's natural to get a little jealous of the people you care about -- do /not/ start scowling!

He wonders if he turned on some kind of video call by mistake. Can his phone even do that? 

**[6:18 P.M] Sugawara-san:** well, communication is key! good luck!

**[6:18 P.M] Kageyama Tobio:**...thank you sugawara-san

In a bit of a daze, he wanders to the kitchen and starts pulling ingredients out of the fridge. Even if it's a bit of a hassle to make dinner for himself after practice almost every night, his parents kept the fridge stocked well enough he couldn't complain. It had been his life for… quite a long time.

He thinks about his conversation with Sugawara. Even if his knee-jerk reaction was to deny outright what he said, his senpai had a good head on his shoulders and Kageyama respected what he had to say, so he figures he should give his insight the time of day. Er, time of night.

Jealousy, huh? Attaching the name to the feeling deep inside him felt foreign. He supposes he felt something like jealousy when Oikawa received that setter award when they were younger, every time he was on the bench, every time he saw someone on the National stage. But that was all centred around volleyball-- and that emotion only spurred him on, oxidized the fire in him, made him want to climb further and further.

This? He just feels weird. And… bad, there's no other way to describe it. Like he ate a tough piece of meat, or some other bad food, and it's roiling in his stomach. 

He doesn't like it. 

The volleyball problems? They were alleviated by working his goddamn ass off, going above and beyond. This issue? If Sugawara was right, what the Hell could he do, kill Yamaguchi? That's not in the cards. Not to mention completely absurd, even for him.

He steams his rice with a plaintive frown. 

He… Well, he… Sure, fine, whatever, he _likes_ Hinata. They're friends, or what the Hell ever. He was dumb, brash, and a thorn in Kageyama's side, but he was his partner, simple as that. They were the freak duo, they were Karasuno's terrific package deal, and that had to count for something. 

And, well, he was (extremely begrudgingly) the better person whom Kageyama had been seeking. Kageyama didn't think there was a defeatist bone in his body, a lick of submission in his fiery amber eyes. And, well, Kageyama thought that should be par for the course, but a lot of other people didn't.

He was… They were... a team.

Was it really the way that Hinata smiled at Yamaguchi that got to him, out of everything they've been through, that was where he drew the line? That didn't make any sense.

And because Kageyama cared about Hinata (a teensy tiny little bit), he thought, if Yamaguchi made him happy, then that was that. As long as it didn't disrupt the team, he didn't care.

So what exactly was the weird tug in his chest? He had solved the jealousy. It was done.

An answer came, somewhat, as an absent thought when he was lying in bed after his progressive muscle relaxation (a technique his grandfather taught him). He was staring at his wall when his mind suddenly flitted to _why can't he smile at me like that?_

_What the fuck?_

His heartbeat quickens. _Where did that come from? What does that even_ mean _?_

He throws up his eyebrows. Closes his eyes tightly. Scrunches his nose. Repeats his steps to try and relax himself again.

_Why not me?_

Stop.

Something from the depths of his mind claws its way to the surface, baring its fangs to the light.

_Am I not good enough, again?_

Enough.

He fumbles for his light and reaches for the volleyball he never keeps too far away. Tomorrow, he'd have to give Hinata a piece of his mind for having the _audacity_ to screw with his head like this.

He sets low, then high, taking care not to clip the ceiling.

His stomach curls when he thinks of Hinata. It's a fluttering sensation, like the panicked flight of a bird trapped in a cage, that soon spreads through his whole body.

He breathes. Slowly. Trying to even out the blood he can feel pulsing through his entire body.

What was wrong with him? 

_And why does Hinata have to cause all of my damn problems?_

...

(Somewhere, in a university dormitory far away, a grey-haired boy is laughing to himself.)

-

**[7:48 P.M] Tadashi:** did i like, do something to piss kageyama off?

**[7:50 P.M] Tsukishima Kei:** It’s possible. It’s not that hard.

**[7:51 P.M] Tadashi:** he was even more… idk.. off, today. at morning and after school practice, he just seemed mad at me

**[7:51 P.M] Tsukishima Kei:** Yes, I noticed.

**[7:51 P.M] Tadashi:** so, any idea why?

**[7:52 P.M] Tsukishima Kei:** I may have an inkling.

**[7:52 P.M] Tadashi:** REALLY? what is it??

**[7:52 P.M] Tsukishima Kei:** It seems like he thinks you and Hinata are involved.

**[7:52 P.M] Tsukishima Kei:** Romantically, obviously.

**[7:52 P.M] Tadashi:** WHAT???

**[7:53 P.M] Tadashi:** i??? what?? me and HINATA??

**[7:53 P.M] Tsukishima Kei:** Kageyama isn’t the brighten crayon in the box, putting it mildly.

**[7:53 P.M] Tadashi:** so he’s jealous of me?

**[7:54 P.M] Tsukishima Kei:** Given how he was slinking around our classroom at lunch and scowling, yes.

**[7:54 P.M] Tadashi:** that?? yachi was busy so i was helping him with a test correction, then we just hung out

**[7:54 P.M] Tadashi:** tsukki why didn’t you tell him you and i are dating?

**[7:55 P.M] Tsukishima Kei:** Because I think it’s fun to see him squirm.

**[7:55 P.M] Tadashi:** /kei./

**[7:55 P.M] Tsukishima Kei:** It’s not like I told him you two were an item. He came to that conclusion on his own.

**[7:56 P.M] Tadashi:** still! i should clear things up. i don’t want him worrying over nothing

**[7:56 P.M] Tsukishima Kei:** That’s not your responsibility. If he has an issue, he should speak to Hinata himself.

**[7:56 P.M] Tadashi:** do you /really/ think he’ll do that?

**[7:56 P.M] Tsukishima Kei:** Well, not particularily.

**[7:56 P.M] Tadashi:** maybe i’ll just mention our weekend date really loud when he’s in earshot

**[7:57 P.M] Tsukishima Kei:** Whatever works.

**[7:57 P.M] Tadashi:** much to think about… i have to go shower now, bye, love you!

**[7:57 P.M] Tsukishima Kei:** Bye.

**[7:57 P.M] Tadashi:** <33

**[7:57 P.M] Tsukishima Kei:** <3

-

For whatever reason, the next day, he sees Hinata and he's tongue-tied. The boy eyes him, hurt (Kageyama had arrived a lot earlier than him, not on purpose, nope, and they weren’t able to race to the doors).

"Don't give me that look," he huffs in the face of his pout.

Hinata sticks out his tongue. "You're lame."

Kageyama takes out his volleyball and spikes it into Hinata's face.

He knows he has issues with communicating. Even on the court, he can't exactly say things in the manner he wishes he could. He's been working on it since his first year, but even so, he can't get his thoughts out in a… palatable way.

And that extends, unfortunately, to his problem with Hinata.

He’s not a (complete) idiot, despite what his teachers may think, and he has a sister who’s been through a few boyfriends, so here’s one reason he can think of for these stupid butterflies. He spent an ungodly amount of time milling it over. And even if that would be an answer to his conundrum, it’s utterly, utterly impossible.

Completely. Thoroughly. Wholly.

He imagines Sugawara’s knowing smile, and shudders.

He would be, in only so many words, fucked.

-

At their after school practice, he catches Yamaguchi looking at him. He wonders, briefly, if Tsukishima had said anything to him, but then reasons that Tsukishima wouldn't involve himself in his business if he was held at gunpoint.

Just when it looks like Yamaguchi is about to come and talk to him (not that he's watching, or anything), Hinata careens right into his view. 

“Ka-ge-ya-ma!”

Kageyama catches his arm before he speeds past and pushes him in front. “What?” 

Hinata’s eyes sparkle, and he stretches his arm to press a volleyball into Kageyama’s chest. “Toss to me! Please, please, please!”

He pushes the volleyball back. “Calm down. I, uh, already told Seiya I would help him out before practice.” He catches the boy’s gaze from a little away, and he looks over the moon. He was partially lying-- he hadn’t made plans, but they’d practiced the other day, so maybe Seiya would ask him again. He needs a little time to orient himself before he plays with Hinata, enough time for the weird feeling (definitely not jealousy, no way) to subsist.

“Really, Kageyama-senpai? I mean, Kageyama-san?” Seiya asks, jogging over. “Awesome! But, er, I mean, if Hinata-san wants to play with you.” His eyes rapidly flicker between the two second years.

Hinata visibly deflates. “No, Seiya, that’s totally fine!” Then he brightens and punches Kageyama in the shoulder. “Be patient with this idiot, alright?”

“Whatever. Go practice with Yamaguchi or something.”

“Maybe I will!” Hinata sniffs. “Yamaguchi!” he calls, running off.

There’s a bitter, acrid taste on his tongue, not unlike bile, after the words come out, but he grits his teeth and turns his attention to Seiya. “Let’s go.”

The first year bounces after him excitedly as Kageyama leads him to the net.

(What Kageyama doesn’t notice, however, as he and Seiya start to play, is the way Hinata’s eyes follow him, the panicked, somewhat guilty look on Yamaguchi, and how Tsukishima rolls his eyes hard enough to pull something.)

The practice passes as uneventfully as a Karasuno practice can go. He and Hinata play as well as they ever do, which only irritates him further. This issue he’s having isn’t affecting volleyball -- which he’s grateful for, at the very least, because if God forbid it had, he doesn’t know what he would do -- and heck, it even seems like they’re better than ever, because whenever Hinata spikes and pumps his fists or puts his hands up for a high-five like it’s the first time Kageyama has ever set to him, his stomach flutters, but not in an angry way, in a good way.

He’ll keep the lid closed on that Pandora’s Box.

As they’re cleaning up, however, the sky, which had been dismally grey the past few days, breaks open and rain starts to batter against the windows. A stroke of lightning tears through the stormy clouds, casting a whitish glow through through the glass, preceding a clap of thunder which causes Shiina to let out a high wail of fear. Nishinoya gives him a comforting slap on the back as he flusters, and Kageyama looks toward a frazzled Hinata.

“What, are scared of a little storm?” he jeers.

“Oh, hush it, you!” Hinata retorts hotly. “Like you’ve never been surprised by thunder!”

“Not in high school.”

Hinata scrunches up his face in distaste at him and plunks a volleyball into the bin. “ _Supercilious_ ,” he mutters under his breath.

They finish up, and Kageyama finds himself toeing around a little more than necessary. He convinces himself that the reason he’s doing so is that maybe, within the ten minutes he spends in the club room, the rain that he can hear, hammering against the walls, will peter off. Hinata lags behind, as well, and he eventually finds himself in a battle with him as to who can leave last.

Eventually, with a petulant look about him, Hinata exits and shuts the door with a bang. Soon after, Kageyama takes his own leave. Rain hisses down to the ground as he winds down the stairs that lead to their club room, hands shoved in his pockets. With the rain brought a certain chill that they’d been needing as the heat and humidity slowly crept up on them, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t cold.

On ground level, he walks below the overhang, briefly protected from the weather. But, he has to get home at _some_ point.

He sighs as he glances up at the steel grey sky. The rain doesn’t look like it’ll be letting up any time soon, and hunger is gnawing at his stomach. He looks at his bag. If he runs as fast as he can, he’ll get home before the water soaks in and potentially damages his shoes (and his schoolwork, but he cares substantially less about the prospects of that being ruined).

When he puts out his hand to test how hard it’s coming down, it doesn’t feel pleasant, but it’s not too horrible. _At least it’s not hail._ So he gets into a running start, and just as he's about to take off--

"Kageyamaaa! Perfect timing!"

A voice parts the downpour. Hinata, tugging his bike along, walks up with a bright smile to Kageyama. "You don't happen to have an umbrella, do you?"

"What does it look like?" Kageyama responds flatly. Immediately the smile slides off of Hinata's face and he scowls, which despite making him look only as threatening as a scorned prey animal, makes the already gloomy evening around him seem a million times dimmer.

_Weird thought._ Hinata is a person, and, his name notwithstanding, not an object which produces light.

"Dang it, Kageyama, I was counting on you!" he whimpers. 

"Too bad, then," Kageyama retorts. Hinata sighs, and rolls his bike to the edge of the overhang, the turning sounds of his wheels lost in the cacophony of rain.

"Hm. If I bike hard enough, I bet I can get home in record time. The rain makes the roads slippery and quick."

"Just how dumb are you?" The words come out of Kageyama's mouth with a venomous lilt he wasn't expecting. "You can't bike in this weather, with your luck you'll crash and die, or just straight up die."

"Are you worried, Kageyama-kun?" Hinata adopts the same shit-eating grin he always wears when he adds the honourific.

"About your stupidity, maybe," Kageyama grumbles. "What if you fell and hurt your legs? And you couldn't play volleyball?"

"You finally admit how useful I am," Hinata says, smirking. "If you have a better idea, I'm all ears. I can't just stay at school!"

That stumps Kageyama for a bit. His heart beats abnormally when he thinks of Hinata getting injured in the storm, but he's (begrudgingly) right. Maybe if there's a teacher still at school, perhaps they'll let Hinata sleep in the gym, but then again, perhaps not.

"My house," is what he settles on.

"Is that a suggestion or a command?"

Kageyama bristles. "Well, it's a Hell of a lot less idiotic than biking to your house. You can wait out the storm there."

"Idiotic! You're spicing up your insults." Kageyama mutters something indistinct under his breath as a familiar light sparks in the depths of Hinata's eyes.

"Well, we've gotta race, then." Without waiting for a response, Hinata tears off through the rain with a yell.

"Hey!" Kageyama calls after him. His own advice forgotten, he was _not_ going to let himself be beaten to his own house by Hinata.

(He doesn't even take a moment to think how weird it is that Hinata could get to his house, alone, under the cover of the dark, overcast evening sky, and how different that is to every other relationship he's ever had.)

Thunder claps ominously in the distance, and a splinter of lightning forks its way through the black clouds. The noise causes Hinata to leap off of the ground in shock, giving Kageyama a moment to catch up to him.

His house is _significantly_ closer to the school than Hinata's, though that's not exactly a high bar to vault over. By the time they've reached the front door, they're both soaked to the bone and shivering despite their race.

"I win," Kageyama breathes. "369-368."

"Not fair! I had to run with my bike!"

"You're the one who started it! No excuses!"

Hinata whines, rudimentarily locking his bike to a pillar as Kageyama unlocks the door. The two of them collapse in, Kageyama flipping on the lights. Since they were off, it probably meant Miwa was still out, and they were alone.

With the door closed behind him, Hinata starts to laugh. _Really_ laugh. His sticky-uppy, messy hair is plastered to the side of his face and his forehead, hanging down in front of his eyes.

Curiously enough, the sight makes Kageyama's stomach clench.

"Kageyama, you look so dumb!" he splutters between bouts of laughter. 

"Shut up, you're the one who looks like you were dragged out of the swamp!"

"No, I mean--" He reaches up and pushes Kageyama's wet hair off of his forehead. "The rain barely changed your hair! What do you even do to it?"

Kageyama jolts back like he has been shocked, and slaps Hinata's hand away, looking in the complete opposite direction of him. "Whatever, idiot. Let's get changed. If we get a cold, Ennoshita-san won't let us hear the end of it."

Hinata's face suddenly goes serious. _Ah. Getting sick and not being able to play hits close, I guess._ "Okay."

Kageyama leads him to his room (stopping to grab a towel on the way, which Hinata immediately attacks his hair with) and puts on the light. He ruffles through his dresser and throws Hinata a pair of sweatpants and one of his practice shirts.

"Thanks," Hinata says, words muffled behind the towel. Then he peels off his soaked shirt, and Kageyama makes it a point to look past him, over his shoulder, for no reason in particular. It's a strange sensation that grips him, and makes him feel as if he'll catch on fire if he looks at his teammate's bare chest. 

Which, may he remind his brain, is completely irrational, since they change in the gym together all the time, with no other emotions save a flicker of annoyance that he gets over-excited in the middle of it and occasionally runs out of the club room shirtless.

Maybe it was because they were at his house.

(But then again, hadn’t this been happening with increasing frequency?)

"Oi, Kageyama, could you not stare?" Kageyama blinks at Hinata's words. He had been trying very hard _not_ to do that. "I need to put on these pants, preferably with my shame intact."

"Oh." Kageyama abruptly turns around to fetch himself his own change of clothes. He then realizes he only got one towel, and walks off toward the bathroom to change there. It alleviates some of the weird tension in his stomach.

He puts on a pair of track pants and a t-shirt, and looks at the way his hair spikes up as a result of his toweling in the mirror. He attempts to smooth it down for no reason at all. He spends a longer time than is considered necessary fixing it, until he hears footsteps in the hall and his hands drop automatically.

"Now who's the dumb-looking one," Kageyama says as Hinata appears in the doorway, pants rolled up several times at the ankle. 

"You're the freak of nature here." He doesn't even begin to fill out the shirt, and throws the towel (and his wet clothes) at Kageyama. "I dunno where your dryer is."

After Kageyama puts their clothes in the dryer, he returns to the living room, where Hinata is lying on the floor drinking a sports drink like his life depends on it.

"I'm hungry," he states matter-of-factly. A little bit of orange liquid dribbles from his lips.

"Idiot. Did you call and tell your parents you'll be home late?"

"Yes." He rolls onto his side. "They can't even pick me up until later, 'cuz Dad is at work and Mom is at Natsu's volleyball lesson. She’s got a game."

"Bet she's better than you."

Hinata sticks out his tongue. "Well, I'm not gonna lose to my baby sister!" He pulls himself up and tosses Kageyama a drink, which he catches clumsily. "Your favourite flavour-- blue."

"Sure." 

Hinata pouts. "What I wouldn't give for my Mom's food," he murmurs faintly, resting his cheek on his fist.

"Don't complain."

“I’m just… making a comment!”

Kageyama, leaving Hinata languishing on the floor, heads to the kitchen. “You still need to eat, dumbass.”

“Oo! Do you know how to cook, Kageyama?”

“I mean, everyone can cook.”

“...Yeah, but like, does it taste good?”

“Obviously!”

"Prove it."

Goddammit. How he gets roped into these things, he'll forever rue his naturally competitive nature.

Him and Hinata talk (bicker) as Kageyama dutifully prepares food ("So what about that math test?" "Yamaguchi tried so hard to help, but I don't think I got higher than the single digits." "...") and Hinata leans against the counter, somehow having the special ability to manifest right where Kageyama needs to walk.

(He kicks him out until the food's done after this happens the sixth time.)

Hinata kicks his legs like a child at the table as Kageyama brings out plates (salmon, egg fried rice, and some leftover miso soup from the night before. He likes to keep things simple but effective). The rain is still pounding down, heavy, above them as they both say itadakimasu and start to eat.

"Dang, Kageyama! You're not half bad!"

"I'm better than half good, too."

"Yeah, yeah."

They eat in relative silence-- despite how goddamn talkative Hinata was, it seemed food always shut him up for the short time it took him to finish.

It's a weird scene, the two of them eating alone in Kageyama's house, after he _made them dinner_ , and it makes Sugawara's texts float back to him. His phone burns a hole in his pocket as he twists his chopsticks between his finger tips.

Well, fuck. He's gone and made it domestic.

"Hey, Kageyama…" Hinata starts.

"What?"

"Why have you been being such a jerk to Yamaguchi?"

There's an uncharacteristically dour look on Hinata's face, and it makes Kageyama's stomach go icy cold.

"I'm not--"

"Yeah, you have been! Don't try to deny it!" Then, fire sparks to life in his eyes, and Kageyama wonders how they went from their normal chatter to this in such a short amount of time. He doesn't sound too mad, but he's definitely demanding an answer. 

"I… Well… Um…" What can he say, really? _You were hanging out with him and Sugawara-san thought you hurt my feelings? Get real._ This kind of stuff was stupid, and the feeling in his gut was stupid, and this tiff they were getting into was stupid.

Hinata glares at him.

Shit, then. Might as well say the truth, or as much as he can say. He has connected the dots that much. _Communication is key!_ "You didn't tell me… That you and Yamaguchi were…" He looks away mutinously, and says the rest, hushed, under his breath. "Together."

"What'd you say?"

" _Ididn'tknowyouandYamaguchiweretogether._ "

Hinata, pinched, leans forward. "Open your mouth when you speak!"

" _I_ _didn't know you and Yamaguchi were dating!_ "

In the next moment, the sound of the rain pattering against his windows and falling on the roof swallows up all the air in the room.

Then Hinata starts cracking up.

" _Kageyama!_ What?!" he giggles. "You think me and Yamaguchi are-- are--" 

Kageyama shrinks into his chair, cheeks colouring.

"We're not, idiot! Yamaguchi and _Tsukishima_ are dating, not that I get what he sees in that jerk," huffs Hinata, crossing his arms.

It takes a moment for Kageyama to break himself out of his shock-induced stupor, but Hinata keeps talking anyways. "Why did you even think that?" 

"Well, what was I supposed to think?!" Kageyama yells stubbornly. "You just started randomly hanging out with him all of a sudden! You were always together during practice!"

"Jeez, Kageyama, you think that's all that makes a relationship? You're hopeless!" Hinata croons. "Of course you would think that playing volleyball together means you're a thing," he adds in an utterance.

"Hey!"

"We play volleyball, does that mean _we're_ dating?"

" _Absolutely not!_ "

"Exactly!" Hinata runs a hand through his damp, messy bangs. "God. But…" Realization slowly dawns on his face. “Why did that make you all pissy?”

Well. Shit.

“Uh.” That’s the crux of the issue, isn’t it? The thing he’s been struggling with? The thing that has an answer, locked away deep within his unconscious, that he doesn’t want to even attempt to reach? He drums his fingertips on the edge of the table nervously.

The air is thick, and Hinata’s looking for his answer. “I don’t…”

_It’s natural to get a little jealous over the people you care about!_

Kageyama sighs deeply. “I guess…”

“You guess _what_?”

“I was kind of… You and I usually practice together.”

This exercise in misery is like pulling teeth. “Yeah, and? What? You were jealous of Yamaguchi?”

That damn word again. Kageyama kicks out his chair and stands up abruptly from the table. “Whatever. Maybe.” Somewhat robotically, he starts toward the staircase. Hinata jumps after him and he feels weight on his back as he’s tackled, and stumbles forward.

“Kageyama! No leaving yet!”

“Dumbass! What are you--” He shakes the boy off of him and puts his foot up on the first stair.

“No, we’re talking!” Hinata falls to the ground, landing evenly on his feet, and tugs Kageyama backward. He whips around to face him.

“Then talk.”

Thunder cracks in the distance.

Hinata holds his dark gaze with ease. “Why were you so upset?” he demands.

_Sugawara-san, give me the patience…_

He grits his teeth. “Because. We’re. A. Team,” he grumbles, defeated.

Hinata stares into him.

“You’re so dumb,” he says, finally, with a lack of fire to his words. He skips past Kageyama and settles onto the staircase, resting his elbows on his knees. “So you _are_ jealous, just like Yachi-san said, oh man, I wouldn’t have thought you were the type!”

The joking lilt that has returned to his voice eases some of the tension. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You may not be super aware of this, but sometimes people hang out with people they like. In a friendly way.”

“Yeah, obviously--”

“Listen to me, dummy-- Yamaguchi can’t toss to me.”

Kageyama looks at Hinata, eyes alight with surprise. The other boy had his head tilted up, the back of it resting against the wall, gazing up at the sloped ceiling. “So don’t be a jerk to him. And _if_ you keep being a jerk to him, I’m gonna kick your ass, and that’s a promise.”

Kageyama looks down at his feet. “Sorry,” he murmurs, quietly and somewhat reluctantly.

Smiling, Hinata holds out his fist. “You may be a violent dumbass, but,” he says, voice softening, “we’re a team. For better or for worse!” 

Heart in his throat, Kageyama returns the gesture, bumping his fist against the other’s. The rain continues to pelt down, banging against the roof like it were made of tin, but for a heartbeat, the incessant pounding halts and his mind is, briefly, clear and contented.

“And I mean, who else is gonna give me a toss that freakin’ stops?” Hinata yells, springing off the steps, easily clearing Kageyama’s body and landing in a perfect T-shape at the foot of the staircase-- his t-shirt (which really is far too big for him) almost flies off of him in the leap. “Or half the crazy dumb awesome stuff you do!”

Kageyama stands as well and adjusts his track pants, ignoring the heat in his cheeks and following Hinata as he goes to the window and gazes out of it drearily. “I wonder if the storm’ll stop before my mom shows up.”

“When does Natsu’s lesson end?”

“Uh, 6:30, I think.” Hinata pulls out his phone, and his eyelids fly open. “Wait-- Dang, it’s almost 7! When did that happen?”

Kageyama peers over Hinata’s shoulder at the screen. It hadn’t felt like that long since the two of them got home. Er, got to Kageyama’s house. “What? My mom texted saying she’s on her way, like, fifteen minutes ago!” He flashes a quick glare at Kageyama. “This is all ‘cuz you were being difficult.”

“As if!”

The pair grumble at each other and Hinata turns back to the window and surveys the street. A bright white light cuts through the darkness-- the headlights of a car slicing through the thunderstorm. Two people pop out of the car, one -- Hinata’s mother -- holding a comically large umbrella. Hinata scurries to the door and throws it open.

“Hi, Mom! Natsu!”

The rain seems a little less harsh than when they were coming here, but it still remains a force to be reckoned with. Natsu, dressed adorably in a bright yellow jersey, hops excitedly toward the entrance. “Nii-chan!”

“How was your game, Natsu?” Hinata asks, crouching down a little.

She puffs out her cheeks. “We won! We were totally awesome!”

“That’s great!”

Natsu turns to Kageyama. “Tobio-nii-chan! You need to help me with setting! I can’t get it up high enough,” she pouts.

“Uh, okay.” He has met Hinata’s sister a few times before, but she seems to, like her brother, have zero inhibitions about anything. She also, for reasons he can’t comprehend (and Hinata claims not to understand either) has taken a shine to him.

“Psshaw. I can teach you how to set,” Hinata exclaims, putting his hands on his hips proudly.

“I want Tobio-nii-chan to teach me,” Natsu says indignantly.

Hinata and Kageyama exchange looks-- the former with an annoyed countenance, the latter sporting a smug grin.

“Hello, Tobio-kun,” Hinata’s mother says, angling her umbrella over Natsu. 

“Hi, Aika-san.”

“Thanks for taking care of Shouyou,” she says with a smile. “Now, let’s get going-- Wait, Shouyou, whose clothes are those?”

Hinata’s cheeks brighten with embarrassment. “Oh--”

Kageyama shoves his shoulder out of the way. “My apologies, Aika-san. We got rained on coming home-- here, so I gave Hinata some of my clothes to wear. I’m sorry, I’ll go get his now.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Tobio-kun.” Hinata gives him a distasteful look, and Kageyama turns around to disappear further into the house and retrieve Hinata’s clothes. “He’s such a polite boy, isn’t he, Shouyou?” he hears as he leaves.

He grabs he and Hinata’s clothes out of the dryer, discards his own, and returns to the door, shoving the shirt and shorts unceremoniously into his arms. Hinata’s eyes flicker between his mother and Kageyama. “Do I get changed now, or?”

“Not here,” Kageyama says, biting back an addition of “idiot.”

“Tobio-kun, if it’s alright with you, I’ll wash them tonight, and Shouyou can return them to you tomorrow,” Hinata’s mother suggests.

“That’s fine.”

“Mooom, I’m not _that_ dirty,” Hinata complains, toeing on his shoes and grabbing his bag.

“It’s common courtesy.”

“Is it?”

Natsu pulls at the end of Kageyama’s shirt, gazing up at him with wide eyes. “Bye, Tobio-nii-chan! ‘Love you!”

“Uh, thanks.”

Hinata’s mother waves goodbye and starts to pull her children along. “Bye, Kageyama! See you tomorrow!” Hinata yells, louder than necessary. Then, almost as an afterthought, he adds “thanks for the food!” 

He grins brightly and waves, his expression a stark contrast to the world around him, smeared in greys and blacks and the pouring streaks of rain. Regardless of whether he’s simply playing the Good Samaritan around his mother, Kageyama finds himself, subconsciously, lifting his own hand to return the gesture. 

Arm lowering awkwardly, he figures he should close the door, and not stare out after the trio. He slams it shut with purpose.

He’s found that talking it out with Hinata has… actually done something for the tension in his gut. It feels as if it has nearly evaporated, and instead, has been replaced by an entirely new, much more pleasant feeling that burns dimly deep in his chest.

Satisfaction? Relief? Happiness that Hinata is still his partner?

It tugs, a little bittersweetly, at him as the car drives away.

With the jealousy (he admits to it, now) gone, what else could be left?

_Wait._

_Oh no._

_Shit._

**Author's Note:**

> *singing quietly to self* you and me and rain on the roooof...... any grandparents out there who get my music references??? also i 100% rec progressive muscle relaxation. it rocks  
> supercilious, adj: behaving or looking as though one thinks one is superior to others.  
> i read it in a book once and am now just having the sudden realization was the great gatsby. thanks english class, you gave me the ability to use good words in my anime fanfiction  
> fun fact, i randomly came up with seiya just as a side character (yes, they're all named after various sports anime characters, two of them are named after a ship from a show you should ALL GO WATCH) but now i'm weirdly attached to him. he has reddish brown hair with a stupid middle part and his jersey number is 12, because comedy  
> this fic isn't the most original concept but i hope u enjoyed it nonetheless, and hey, if you feel like leaving me a comment and want to do me a solid, tell me a song that gives you kagehina feels! i'll give u three of mine: for good from wicked, if my heart was a house by owl city, and lucky strike by troye sivan. i love hinata so much y'all. and yamaguchi. my BOYS  
> (also i know everyone in hq uses flip phones and they email, not text, but let me have this please--)  
> (and i'm sorry this is so long. i know ppl usually use these to plug their tumblrs [@clementinethekitten] but i have COMMENTARY. and i'm drinking water out of a wine glass)


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